Chinese athletes delivered an impressive performance on the first day of the 9th Asian Winter Games held in Harbin, Heilongjiang Province, earning eight gold medals across various disciplines.
Li Fanghui led the charge by securing the top spot in the women’s freeski halfpipe final in Yabuli with a score of 95.25 points in her third run. Her teammate, Zhang Kexin, followed closely with 89.25 points, while South Korea’s Jang Yu-jin took bronze with 85 points.
Zhang Xiaonan dominated the women’s snowboard slopestyle final, winning gold with an outstanding 95.25 points, 20 points ahead of compatriot Xiong Shirui. Japan’s Ishii Himari claimed the bronze spot.
On the skating track, China added four more titles. Gao Tingyu broke the men’s 100-meter speed skating record at the Games, finishing in 9.35 seconds ahead of Kazakhstan’s Yevgeniy Koshkin. Ning Zhongyang also set a new Games record in the men’s 1,500 meters, completing the race in 1:45.85, surpassing Japan’s Kazuya Yamada and Ryota Kojima.
In the women’s 1,500-meter speed skating final, Han Mei, Yang Binyu, and Yin Qi took the podium, with Han Mei winning gold in 1:57.58, Yang Binyu securing silver with 1:58.06, and Yin Qi earning bronze in 1:58.09.
Lin Xiaojun captured China’s sole short track speed skating title in the men’s 500-meter final with a time of 41.150 seconds, outperforming South Korea’s Park Ji-won and Jang Sung-woo. Additionally, Li Lei and Wang Qiang won the cross-country skiing women’s and men’s sprint classic finals, respectively, further boosting China’s medal tally.
The strong start by Chinese athletes sets a promising tone for the remainder of the Games, highlighting the nation’s prowess in winter sports.
Reference(s):
Chinese athletes off to a good start at 9th Asian Winter Games
cgtn.com
